Remembering Warren Harding
On August 2, 1923 (90 years ago), Warren Gamaliel Harding, the 29th President of the United States, died at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco at the age of 57. Although there is some controversy surrounding his death, his cause of death is officially listed as congestive heart failure. Harding had been on a grueling west coast trip in the days before commercial air travel that took him from Alaska to California (during which Harding became the first sitting president to visit Canada, a visit that he is fondly remembered for by those who remember.)
The controversy surrounding his death came mostly from a disreputable private investigator named Gaston Means, who wrote a national inquirer style book called "The Strange Death of President Harding" in which means suggested that first lady Florence Harding had done her husband in because of his philandering ways. Mrs. Harding's refusal to permit an autopsy fueled this speculation, but given Means' lack of credibility otherwise, not much stock has been put into his theory.
Many people dismiss Harding as one of the worst presidents ever because of a number of scandals in his administration that were discovered following his death and because he had the same problem as Bill Clinton when it came to his libido. But I give Harding a lot of credit for one thing in particular: at a time when civil rights for African-Americans were practically non-existent, and in an age of great intolerance, Harding had the courage to give a series of speeches in the heart of the deep south calling for increased rights for African-Americans. In a speech he made on October 26, 1921, given in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, Harding advocated civil rights for African Americans, making him the first President to openly advocate for political, educational, and economic equality for African-Americans during the 20th century. Harding went even further and called the race problem a national and international issue and he said that the sectionalism of the south needed to end. This was pretty gutsy stuff in those times.
Warren Harding's face will never be etched on a mountain, and he'll forever be remembered for things like the Teapot Dome scandal. His biggest fault was that he trusted men who were not trustworthy and this character defect has tarnished his legacy. But don't be too quick to toss Harding into history's garbage heap, the man definitely had his good points. And he could play the tuba too.
The controversy surrounding his death came mostly from a disreputable private investigator named Gaston Means, who wrote a national inquirer style book called "The Strange Death of President Harding" in which means suggested that first lady Florence Harding had done her husband in because of his philandering ways. Mrs. Harding's refusal to permit an autopsy fueled this speculation, but given Means' lack of credibility otherwise, not much stock has been put into his theory.
Many people dismiss Harding as one of the worst presidents ever because of a number of scandals in his administration that were discovered following his death and because he had the same problem as Bill Clinton when it came to his libido. But I give Harding a lot of credit for one thing in particular: at a time when civil rights for African-Americans were practically non-existent, and in an age of great intolerance, Harding had the courage to give a series of speeches in the heart of the deep south calling for increased rights for African-Americans. In a speech he made on October 26, 1921, given in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, Harding advocated civil rights for African Americans, making him the first President to openly advocate for political, educational, and economic equality for African-Americans during the 20th century. Harding went even further and called the race problem a national and international issue and he said that the sectionalism of the south needed to end. This was pretty gutsy stuff in those times.
Warren Harding's face will never be etched on a mountain, and he'll forever be remembered for things like the Teapot Dome scandal. His biggest fault was that he trusted men who were not trustworthy and this character defect has tarnished his legacy. But don't be too quick to toss Harding into history's garbage heap, the man definitely had his good points. And he could play the tuba too.